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Books

No, there is no dinner. Today we are having leftovers. I just got carried away with the whole "winner, winner, chicken dinner" phrase that I love so much!

So the winner of the SEWN HATS BOOK giveaway is:

On September 16th at 8:06, Mary said:

I'd love to win this book - I'm known for wearing and making hats and have started my grandchildren on this same path! (The boys and the girls all have hats I've made them and let me know when they need a new one!) My very favorites are the big, floppy brimmed hats.

And because we couldn't pick just one, we will also send an AMELIA & ME pattern to:

On September 18th at 6:52 am, Martha Followill said...

I love the Amelia and Me pattern for my little greatniece that is almost 2 years old. I have alot of yourpatterns and love them all. I now have my eye on yourpattern Star Bloom. Your color combinations is one ofthe best.

Email us with us with your info ladies and we will get your goodies out to you! Thanks again for following along.

For those of you on FACEBOOK, have you seen our little deals? We will have a new one tomorrow and maybe even a sneak peek or two.

Just thought I'd pop in amidst our sewing and designing frenzy to show you a project in my upcoming book, With Fabric & Thread. This is one of my favs.

We don't have them in our hot little hand just yet but a little birdie just told me that we should be getting them any day now!

So we are working to get books ready to ship to you next week, WOOHOO!

We will start taking pre-orders on the site this weekend [or perhaps later today if all goes well] so check back if you would like a signed copy as soon as we have them!

More on all this book fun later. For now, hope these little goodies give you something yummy to think about this weekend! And if you have time, feel free to send all possible sewing and cutting vibes our way as we will be literally buried in fabric!

It feels like it has been such a long time in the coming but I guess if I look at it all with better perspective, it hasn't been that long at all- at least not for a book process that is!

I will tell you much more in the upcoming weeks and share a lot of fun stuff about the process & the projects. For now I am just happy to show you this!

The book showcases projects that are both geared towards quilters as well as sewers and focuses on both of these wonderful worlds in separate sections of the book!

Leave a comment telling me what topic in the book- QUILTING or SEWING- you are most excited about or interested in and I will enter you to win a mini bundle of our newest fabric collection, California Girl!

We will draw at the end of this week so be sure to check back.

Can't wait to hear which "side" you are coming from. Geesh, I can barely wait to show you more goodies!

Yes, you read that right. I want to live inside my camera bag right now. I'm in love. If you can be in love with a camera bag that is. It came in the mail today and I knew right away what it was! My kids thought I had lost my marbles just a little when I yelled "get out of my way unless you know where the scissors are!"

Of course, the weeks leading up to Market, they pretty much assume that I have already lost my mind, so I guess, if I think about it a bit more, they might not even have noticed my odd behavior!

I have to tell you that one of my very favorite things about working in the industry that I do is the people I have met along the way and those that I would now call friends. Kay is one of them. It just happens to be a nice perk that she is the most amazing and talented seamstress that there ever was. And she is so little and cute you just want to eat her up! Or in this case, her camera bag. O.M.G.

Made out of my favorite 3 fabrics right now. And I mean my absolute favorite, this bag is a new home for my DSLR that faithfully travels with me everywhere to chronicle my life and my work. I don't really know what I would do without it. Its never really had a proper home, just one hand me down bag after another. But now, its home is where I want to live. Inside every little outside and inside pocket.

... did you notice that the inside has a little shelf for the camera to sit on so the lens goes in the little space that is left. Are you freaking kidding me??

Thank you Kay, from the bottom of my heart.

Okay, I'm done now. I know one of my friends will email me soon to tell me that I have lost it for good now. But then again, what do they expect. It is the week before Market after all.

IN OTHER NEWS....

Just in case you were hoping for other information other than my desire to live in my new camera bag, I wanted to show you my first sneak peek of an upcoming quilt pattern. STEMS is currently my favorite and you will be seeing many more pics of it coming up and at Market. But for now I thought I would show you the version the lovely Sherri made from the goodies I showed a couple of posts ago.

Remember that little rainbow of fabrics spread out on the ground? Well that was for this. Its making me really happy right now. One of those patterns that has been in my head since I became infatuated with Orla Kiely [which has been for a really long time!] I've always wanted to create a pieced version of her signature stem look. Well, this is it. More on the pattern front soon.

And..... drumroll.... I have been cleared to share that I have signed a new contract with Wiley Books! I am so happy to share a new book home with some of my favorite friends and designers, Sandi, Patty & Paula. Here's to the journey ladies!

I am so excited for this project and will share more as I can. Working on the first portion of this book is the real reason that I have been MIA lately. My Market patterns have been written, edited, photo shot, press checked and sent off to the printer what seems like an eternity ago [probably just a couple of days ago but it sure feels like a long time at this point].

They are starting to arrive back at the studio, palette by palette, as we speak. Usually we stagger them a bit more, but to have them all arrive at once is a bit overwhelming for our fabulous office ladies and the man behind the fig! At least he sure is getting a work out!

But it is the book project I have been cranking away on for the last couple of weeks. Because of course, my first deadline is just right about the same time as Market.

Did we mention something about insanity. Okay, just checking. Thanks for listening to all my exciting news. More to come soon.

We have had lots of fun things going on lately and I keep forgetting to share them. I don't know, sometimes it just feels a little too much about me, me , me. Oh yeah, this is a blog about me :-).... so here goes with a warning: there's a lot about me coming up, read at your own risk!

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Where Women Create: Book of Inspiration

Several of you have already mentioned the early release of this latest wonder by the great Jo Packham [of Where Women Create magazine and book fame] and Jenny Doh [former editor of the Stampington family of magazines and bookazines]. This is a wonderful addition to any creative woman's book library [I just did a book review on it in my latest issue of Fresh Vintage #15 which will be up on our site any day now].

I would be gushing about this book whether or not I was involved in it. It just feels like icing on the cake that I got to be one of the features. Artists featured are of every type and variety from jewelry, to textile to paper to collage to photography, each offering a bit of insight about their own journey, what inspires them and various tips along the way. Available now all over I think, but for sure at Amazon.

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Interview

Did a really fun interview with the folks at EQ. I love that program and the more I learn about it, the more I enjoy using it. Many times the deadlines come so fast that being able to electronically create a quilt ahead of time is the only way to go around here. EQ makes that possible. But beware... it can get a little addicting.

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The Quiltmakers

Now there is a title for you, huh? I was happy to be asked to be a part of this compilation book by the wonderful British publishing house, David & Charles. When I saw that I was profiled alongside Lynette Jensen of Thimbleberries and Marsha McCloskey, I was even more honored. This is definitely more of a traditional quilting book with 8 chapters based around the work and style of 8 different worldwide quilting personalities. Joining the US designers are several from England, Australia and Europe. There is a little something in it for everyone I think since the styles of artists shown are so very different.

Just a few shots of our project for the book. My favorite thing about this pattern.... the secondary brown stars that are created around the outer borders of the quilt. A great way to make a standard hexagon pattern, something a bit more interesting.

A Bit About Me

copyright 2015

Please feel free to use any fabric or pattern images to help promote and market our products in your shop or blog. If you are interested in using any more personal photos, please email me before using or posting anywhere else. Thank you.